Vehicle for beach cleaning

ABSTRACT

The vehicle is intended as a self-propelled utility model for beach cleaning. It has a vehicle frame which comprises at least one front and rear axle. A garbage pickup is disposed therebetween. The vehicle is to be a multi-purpose vehicle. The vehicle frame equipped with wheels consequently has a centric, rectangular opening between the front and the rear axle. The garbage pickup is adjustably mounted in this opening, namely from an operating position in which it contacts the ground to a ready position in which it is lifted from the ground. Seen in the direction of driving, a collecting receptacle for the picked up garbage is located behind the garbage pickup.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Such a vehicle which can be exclusively used for beach cleaning is knownfrom DE-OS 36 06 373. This vehicle comprises a horizontal pickup rollerdisposed on the vehicle front which picks up the impurities and deliversthem to a barrel-shaped drum sieve via a narrowed chute-like feed. Thepickup roller and the drum sieve are mounted pivotably between anoperating position in which they contact the ground and a ready positionin which they are lifted from the ground by means of a actuatingcylinder The garbage is conveyed from the drum sieve via an elevatorthrough an opening in the frame to a collecting receptacle deposited ona frame at the rear of the vehicle.

It is disadvantageous in the known vehicle that only a relatively narrowchute duct to the drum sieve is formed although the pickup rollerextends across the entire width of the vehicle Larger garbage componentscan get jammed in this bottleneck during transport of the garbage in thedirection towards the collecting receptacle and get stuck there Thiseffect is increased by the use of a drum sieve disposed downstream,since the garbage is not distributed on a large surface, but issubstantially only conveyed along the deepest area within the drum. Dueto the insufficient distribution of the garbage, the separation of sandfrom garbage is also rendered difficult. The volume of the collectingreceptacle is furthermore relatively small so that the beach cleaningmust be interrupted frequently to empty the collecting receptacle at agarbage transfer station. This leads to an increased work expenditureand to a prolongation of the work input during beach cleaning

It is also disadvantageous that an exchange of pickup roller and drumsieve is hardly possible to equip the vehicle possibly without the twoor with another pickup roller or drum sieve Since the loading area abovethe vehicle frame is fundamentally only designed to receive thecollecting receptacle, it can also not be used for different fields ofapplication.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention is based on the object of providing a vehicle of the typeindicated at the beginning, which can be used for many purposes andwhich is in particular improved regarding the garbage pickup.

The garbage can be conveyed in simple fashion to the elevator via thepickup V-ledge of the garbage pickup. Larger garbage components can alsobe picked up without problems. The elevator conveys the garbage pickedup rapidly and across its entire width to the conveyor means. Aseparation of sand and garbage takes place both by means of the elevatorand the conveyor means. The garbage located on the conveyor means isdelivered to the garbage pickup located at the rear of the vehicle.Bottlenecks do not occur in this type of garbage pickup Due to thedetachable arrangement of the garbage pickup below the loading area, itcan moreover be detached in simple fashion or exchanged against anothergarbage pickup. Depending on the field of application a garbage pickupwith another pickup V-ledge and/or another elevator can e.g. be fastenedto the vehicle. Due to the arrangement of the garbage pickup below theloading area, the loading area can be used for the most different fieldsof application. The loading area can in particular also serve to receivethe garbage collected in the collecting receptacle. Due to this theapplication time of the vehicle is considerably prolonged.

Due to the garbage pickup mounted adjustably and/or pivotably on theframe a use of the vehicle is not limited to beach cleaning. The vehiclecan also be used as tractive machine in road traffic with the garbagepickup pivoted away from the ground. Due to this, a variableapplication, in particular for municipal works, results. Differentattachment devices can be optionally attached detachably to the frontand rear of the vehicle such as blade grass cutter, motorized grasscutter, sockle-bar grass cutter, shredding device, sweeping machine,rotary brushes for the cleaning of guide posts and guardrails, snowplough, salt spreader, fertilizer spreader, soil ventilating devices orthe like. The vehicle may also have attachment devices such as specialfacilities for the transport of wicker beach chairs and water reservoirsor the like.

A matching between the width of the garbage pickup and the width of thecentral strip is important because due to this the entire garbagedeposited in the central strip can be picked up and transported away. Apenetration into a sandy ground and thus a picking up of garbage pressedinto the ground is possible by means of the pickup V-ledge. It isadvantageous that only the garbage is picked up from the ground, whilethe sand is partly already deposited on the V-ledge By means of avariation of the working depth by means of the actuator objects pressedmore deeply into the ground can also be removed from it. Due to thedesign of the elevator with deflecting axes and a rotating end a rapidpicking up and transporting away of the garbage to the collectingreceptacle is ensured.

A large separation of the garbage from the ground material carried alongis possible by means of the conveyor means. A jumping off or sliding offof the garbage due to the conveying movement of the riddle sifter isprevented by means of a rearwardly rising riddle sifter. It isfurthermore also suitable to dispose the collecting receptacle at therear of the vehicle, since it is easily accessible in this position andcan also be used as a deposit for other objects if the vehicle is usedfor municipal tasks other than beach cleaning.

By means of lateral connecting rods, the eccentric mounting of thehorizontal swivelling axes and by suited stops an automatic emptying ofthe full collecting receptacle over the loading area is possible bymeans of a tilting of the receptacle in the case of a pivoting of thecollecting receptacle over the loading area. The tilting point of thecollecting receptacle can be varied by means of the additional actuatorin order to achieve a uniform filling of the loading area. If the rearwall is designed in parallel to the bottom in a collecting receptacle, adirect picking up e.g. of sand is ensured in the case of a backing up ofthe vehicle and subsequent putting upright of the collecting receptacleby means of the actuator. A level indicator and an indicator means mayalso be advantageous, since the collecting receptacle can normally notbe seen from the driver's seat.

Finishers may be provided at the rear of the collecting receptacleand/or at the vehicle frame for the smoothing of the cleaned sand andfor a certain levelling out of hollows and holes in an embodiment of theinvention.

Due to the invention a targeted depositing of the garbage received inthe collecting receptacle is possible and, in addition to this, amultiple use of the vehicle, e.g. for transporting building materials,soil, gardening articles or the like.

A cleaning not only of one area in the center of the vehicle, but alsoin the tracks of the wheels is possible by means an advantageousembodiment of the invention. A rational cleaning of a specific beacharea results from this, since a strip corresponding at least to thevehicle width can be cleaned per working cycle. The track cleaningdevice can have a number of cleaning elements which are attached to thevehicle in rapidly mountable and retrofittable fashion by means of acommon carrier. Swath rotors driven in counter-rotation, coiled worms orbrush rollers can e.g. be used as cleaning elements. The cleaningelements can be designed lowerable into an operating position andliftable into a ready position by means of actuating devices.

Features of the track cleaning device are furthermore advantageous sincee.g. in the case of rough ground too deep a penetration of the cleaningelements into the ground and possibly their damaging is prevented bymeans of the guide shoes supported flatly on the ground. Guide shoesdesigned in disk-shaped fashion make moreover a sliding in allhorizontal directions possible. Such a shock absorption of the cleaningelements by the guide shoes increases the durability and thus theservice life of the cleaning elements, in particular in the case of thecleaning of hilly ground. The guide shoes can be vertically adjustablewith respect to the penetration depth of the cleaning elements, wherebya large adaptation to the condition of the ground to be cleaned isgiven.

By means of a detachable quick-acting closure a retrofitting of thevehicle to other fields of application is ensured without great timeexpenditure, by simple manipulations and without special expertknowledge. The variability and flexibility of the utility vehicle isstill increased by this.

Examples of embodiment of the subject matter of the invention areexplained in greater detail in the following by means of the drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a lateral view of a utility vehicle for beach cleaning inits operating position.

FIG. 2 shows a top view of the utility vehicle represented withoutsuperstructure.

FIG. 3 shows an enlarged lateral view of a first embodiment of the trackcleaning device.

FIG. 4 shows a front view of part of a second example of embodiment ofthe track cleaning device.

FIG. 5 shows a lateral view of the track cleaning device according toFIG. 4.

FIG. 6 shows a section along line VI--VI of FIG. 4.

FIG. 7 shows a lateral view of the utility vehicle in its readyposition.

FIG. 8 shows a lateral view of the utility vehicle according to FIG. 7with tilted loading area and

FIG. 9 shows a lateral view of the utility vehicle for application casesother than beach cleaning.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

A self-propelling utility vehicle for beach cleaning 1 is presented inFIG. 1 in its operating position. The utility vehicle 1 has a front axle2 and a rear axle 3, on which a vehicle frame 4 is resiliently mounted.The ends of the axles are equipped in each case with at least onevehicle wheel 5. A driving motor 6 of a conventional construction, e.g.a hydraulic drive, acting on one or both axles is provided above thefront axle 2, which moreover can also drive further devices installed onthe vehicle. The front part of the vehicle, in particular above thefront axle 2 is surrounded by a driver's cabin, while the part of theutility vehicle 1 disposed behind the driver's cabin 7 has a tiltableloading area 8.

The vehicle frame 4 consists of a front, 4a, central, 4b, and rearsection 4c. The central section 4b has a centric rectangular opening 9,which is limited by two spaced transverse bars 10 extending transverselyto the longitudinal direction of the vehicle and by two spacedlongitudinal bars 11 extending in the longitudinal direction of thevehicle, whose ends are in each case connected with the transverse bars.A garbage pickup 12 is adjustably mounted in the opening 9, which can bepivoted from an operating position in which it contacts the ground 13(cf. FIG. 1) into a ready position, in which it is lifted from theground (cf. FIG. 7) and vice versa.

The front and rear transverse bars 10a, 10b have an identical length,which exceeds the width 12a of the garbage pickup 12 in such fashionthat there is a clearance 14 of approximately identical size between thegarbage pickup 12 and the longitudinal bars 11 (cf. FIG. 2). The lengthof both longitudinal bars and thus the inner distance between thetransverse bars 10 corresponds approximately to the length 12b of thegarbage pickup.

The front section 4a of the vehicle frame has two spaced frontlongitudinal axle bars 15 extending in the longitudinal direction of thevehicle, which are disposed symmetrically to the longitudinal axis ofthe vehicle 1a and whose rear ends 15a are connected at the front sidewith the front transverse bar 10a. The rear section 4c of the frame alsohas to spaced rear axle longitudinal bars 16 extending in thelongitudinal direction of the vehicle, which are also disposedsymmetrically to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle 1a and whose frontends 16a are connected with the rear transverse bar 10b. According toFIG. 2 the distances of the front and rear longitudinal axle bars 15, 16have in each case a different dimension with respect to each other. Asregards the front longitudinal axle bars 15 their inner distancesresults from the length of the transverse bars 10 reduced by aboutdouble the width of the vehicle wheels 5. The front ends of the frontlongitudinal axle bars 15 are connected with each other by means of afront support 17, whose length corresponds approximately to the innerdistance of the front longitudinal axle bars 15 from each other. Anattachment plate 18 is fastened to the front side of the front section4a of the vehicle frame, which may also be designed as bumper and canreceive e.g. the vehicle headlamps (not shown).

According to FIGS. 1 and 7 to 9 the vehicle frame 4 is bent in inclinedfashion towards the rear of the vehicle in its central section 4b, i.e.in the area of the opening 9, so that the rear transverse bar 10b has asmaller ground clearance than the front transverse bar 10a. Thus theinclination of the central frame section 4b is selected in such fashionthat the difference of the ground clearance of the transverse barcorresponds approximately to the height 12c of the garbage pickup andthe ground clearance of the rear transverse bar 10b is at least as largeas the ground clearance of the rear axle 3. The front ends 16a of therear longitudinal axle bars 16 are bent in inclined fashion towards therear transverse bar 10b in such fashion that the bending point isdisposed before the rear axle 2 and the section of the rear longitudinalaxle bar 16 disposed behind the bending point are disposed approximatelyhorizontally.

A track cleaning device 20 is provided at the front side 1c of theutility vehicle 1, which is driven e.g. by the driving motor 6, whichconveys the garbage located in the track towards the center 1d of thevehicle so that the garbage 21 is conveyed to a central strip 22 locatedbelow the utility vehicle 1. The track cleaning device 20 has accordingto FIG. 2 a separate cleaning element 23 for each track which is mountedabove a common support 24 on the front side 1c of the vehicle. Thesupport 24 extends in horizontal direction transversely to the drivingdirection and has swivelling axes 24a at its ends, on which the cleaningelements 23 are mounted pivotably in vertical direction . An actuationmeans 25 is provided between the common support 24 and the cleaningelement 23, by means of which the cleaning elements can be movedindividually or separately from each other from an operating position inwhich they contact the ground 13 into a ready position in which they arelifted from the ground and vice versa. FIG. 2, in particular, showscleaning elements 23 designed as swath rotors 23a, which have in eachcase a vertical axis of rotation 23b and are driven in counter-rotation.The swath rotor disposed on the left in the driving direction has aclockwise direction of rotation, the swath rotor disposed on the rightin the driving direction has a counter-clockwise direction of rotation.As can be seen from FIGS. 2 and 3 the swath rotor 23a consists ofcircular swath rakes, which have a diameter corresponding at least tothe track width.

To dampen roughnesses of the ground and to adjust the penetration depthof the circular swath rakes in the ground 13 vertically adjustable guideshoes 26 are fastened to the cleaning elements 23. They are of adisk-shaped design and are disposed outside the working range of thecircular swath rakes or in the area of the axis of rotation 23b (cf.FIG. 3).

The circular swath rakes are provided with tines 23d which have a bendin their longitudinal axis which points contrary to the direction ofrotation (not represented in greater detail). Due to this the tines areadjusted at a drag angle to the ground 13. The height of the tines isvariable within wide limits and is up to 0.5 m.

As is shown in greater detail in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 the circular swathrakes can be pivoted by means of a control, e.g. a link control, from anoperating position in which they contact the ground 13 into a readyposition in which they are lifted from the ground and vice versa duringa rotation by 360°. The control is designed in such fashion that thecircular swath rakes being just located in the rear part of the swathrotor, i.e. the part pointing towards the vehicle, are lifted, while thecircular swath rakes just located in the front part of the swath rotorare adjusted towards the ground. Each cleaning element 23 is moreoverprovided with a guard hood, which may also be of a diffusorlike design,i.e. designed like an aerodynamic conveying duct (not represented ingreater detail). The outwardly directed opening of the conveying duct isaligned towards the center of the vehicle and opens, as tangentially aspossible, in the central strip 22.

A further embodiment of the track cleaning device 20 is represented inFIGS. 4 to 6.

According to this embodiment the track cleaning device 20 is designed asworm 27 coiled in opposite directions with a worm axis 27a extendingtransversely to the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. It ispossible to design the worm across the entire width of the vehicle andto provide it with opposed spirals or to provide a separate spiral ineach track (cf. FIG. 4) which conveys the garbage from the outer side ofthe track to the central strip located below the vehicle. To achievethis purpose the direction of rotation of the worm must be accordinglyselected. According to FIG. 5 the worm 27 is directly disposed beforethe vehicle wheel 5 and provided with a guard hood for the purpose of atargeted conveying of the garbage. To increase the conveying capacity aworm rim 27c rotating on the worm has tines 27d, which are adjustable intheir longitudinal direction or transversely to it from an operatingposition to a ready position and vice versa during a 360° rotation bymeans of a control means (not shown). The control means is designed insuch fashion that tines 27d are retracted in the upwardly pointingsection of the worm 27 towards the worm axis 27a while they are radiallyoutwardly displaced in the worm half pointing to the ground in thedirection towards the ground 13 and in the direction of the garbage tobe conveyed. Therefore a radially outwardly movement of the tines 27dtakes place at first place in the lower worm half pointing towards theground 13 (cf. arrow A in FIGS. 5 and 6 and finally after the passing ofthe lower dead center a movement of the tines directed towards the wormaxis 27a, i.e. inwardly, takes place (cf. arrow B in FIGS. 5 and 6). Inthe case of the design of the track cleaning device as a worm anactuating device can also be provided, by means of which the distance ofthe worm 27 from the ground 13 or its penetration depth into the groundcan be adjusted and varied The track cleaning device 20 can furthermorebe designed in the form of a brush roller with vertical and/orhorizontal axis of rotation.

As represented in FIG. 2 a baffle plate or deposit plate 30 representedin partly broken fashion is disposed between the cleaning elements 23.The baffle plate can also be shaped in such fashion that it has aportion 30a extending in the longitudinal direction 1a of the vehicleand tangentially is phased out towards the cleaning elements 23. Theportion pointing towards the cleaning elements 23 may also phase outinto the guard hood 23e of the cleaning elements or act itself as aguard hood.

In the following the garbage pickup 12 is explained in greater detailwith reference to FIGS. 1, 2 and 7. The width 12a (cf. FIG. 2) of thegarbage pickup should at least correspond to the width of the centralstrip 22 in order to make a proper garbage pickup possible. The garbagepickup consists substantially of a pickup V-ledge 31 and an elevator 32guided around two deflection axes 32a, b and disposed behind the pickupV-ledge 31. The pickup V-ledge 31 consists of spaced pickup elements 31aof an almost triangular design (cf. FIG. 2) which may also be designedin tooth-shaped fashion and/or pointing tangentially to the ground 13.

The pickup V-ledge 31 is kept near the ground 13 or guided through theground, e.g. sand, with a specific penetration depth in the operatingposition of the garbage pickup 12 (cf. FIG. 1). The penetration depth ofthe pickup V-ledge 31 is several cm, preferably about 5 cm. Thereforethe front deflection axis 32a is disposed near the ground and the reardeflection axis 32b is disposed at a distance from the ground in theoperating position, the latter being disposed above the rear transversebar 10b and/or above the rear axle 3 of the vehicle.

The elevator 32 has an upper and lower carrying run extending in eachcase between the deflection axis 32a, 32b, the axis of rotation of thedeflection axes being selected in such fashion that the upper carryingrun extends rearwardly and the lower carrying run extends forwardly. Thedirection of rotation of the elevator in FIG. 1 corresponds to aclockwise rotation. The elevator 32 can be designed very differently asa function of the garbage to be picked up, preferably as conveyor. belt,scraper floor, a raking belt or link conveyor The rotating carrying runmay moreover have a surface coating or specially designed grippers whichallow a reliable gripping, picking up and conveying of the garbage. Atleast one of the deflection axes, preferably the upper deflection axis32b, is designed as a driving axle and driven via the driving motor 6 ora separately provided motor.

The lateral ends of the upper deflection axis 32b are rotatably mountedin a supporting arm 33 supported in each case on the longitudinal bar11. An actuator 34, e.g. a piston/cylinder unit, is provided between thevehicle frame 4 and the upper end of the garbage pickup 12, which isconnected detachably with the central section 4b of the frame at one endand with a swivelling arm 35 fastened to the upper end of the garbagepickup at the other end. A pivoting of the garbage pickup 12 in theopening 9, i.e. a regulation of the working depth, and a moving of thegarbage pickup from the ready to the operating position and vice versais possible by an actuation of the actuator. The garbage pickup ispivoted about the deflection axis 32b held in the supporting arm 33. Itfollows from this that the upper deflection axis 32 is heldstationarily, while the position of the deflection axis 32a between theground 13 and approximately the ground clearance of the front transversebar 10a is variable.

Adjoining the garbage pickup 12 a conveyor means 36 is provided whichconveys the garbage delivered by the garbage pickup 12 to a collectingreceptacle 37 attached to the rear 1b of the vehicle. The conveyingmeans 36 has a stopper strip 36a (cf. FIG. 1) in its front part, whichcan also be designed as a stripper for detaching the garbage located onthe elevator 32. The conveyor means 36 can be driven by means of a motorand is preferably designed as a horizontal or rearwardly rising riddler36b or as a horizontal conveyor belt. The riddler 36b is suspendedelastically on the rear section 4c of the frame or near the rear axle 3and is caused to move by means of an eccentric drive, e.g. a staticdisplacement drive. The conveyor belt is conventionally provided withtwo deflection axes, one of which being at least driven. In order toprevent a rolling off of the garbage from the garbage pickup 12 and theconveying means 36, they may be provided with lateral collecting sheets(not shown).

A delivery strip 36c made of rubber is provided at the end of theriddler 36b, by means of which the garbage is introduced into thecollecting receptacle 37.

A baffle plate 38 is disposed between the conveying means 36 and therear axle 3, which can also be moved in the direction of conveying ofthe riddler 36b (cf. FIG. 1).

The collecting receptacle 37 is held on the vehicle frame 4 or on theloading area 8 by means of two lateral connecting rods 40. Eachconnecting rod 30 is rotatably mounted on the loading area 8 via ahorizontal swivelling axis 41 at one end and on the collectingreceptacle 37 also via a horizontal swivelling axis 42 at the other endin FIGS. 1, 2, 7 to 9. An actuator 43, e.g. a piston/cylinder unit, isallocated to each connecting rod 40, whose one end is detachably heldwith a side wall of the loading area 8 and whose other end is detachablyheld with a pivoting arm 40a fastened in each case to the connectingrods 40. The collecting receptacle 37 is preferably designed as atilting trough, the swivelling axes 42 being disposed before the centerof gravity of the collecting receptacle 37.

Stops 44, 45 are in each case provided on the side walls of thecollecting receptacle below and at the level of the swivelling axes 42,which limit the swivelling path of the rear end of each connecting roddisposed downstream of the swivelling axis 42. The rear end of theconnecting rod 40 finally cooperates with the stop 44 upon an actuationof the actuator 43 and a circular upwardly directed pivoting movement ofthe connecting rods 40 and of the collecting receptacle 37 about theswivelling axis 41.

The collecting receptacle is automatically emptied by a tipping overabove the loading area 8 due to the eccentric mounting (FIG. 7).

A further actuator may moreover be provided between the lateralconnecting rods 40 and the collecting receptacle 37 which allows atilting of the collecting receptacle 37 independently of a pivoting ofthe connecting rods. Thus an emptying of the collecting rod is alsopossible in the position shown in FIG. 1. In this embodiment the rearwall 37a of the collecting receptacle is inclined in such fashion thatthe rear wall 37a and the bottom 13 are disposed approximately inparallel to each other in a rearwardly open garbage pickup position ofthe collecting receptacle. The collecting receptacle has moreover alevel indicator which cooperates with an indicator means (not shown)disposed in the driver's cabin and indicates to the driver that thecollecting receptacle is full.

A finisher 46 resting on the bottom 13 is pivotably linked to the rearof the collecting receptacle 37 by means of a mounting plate 47 fastenedto the collecting receptacle according to FIG. 1. The finisher, however,may also be fastened to another part of the vehicle, in particulardisposed behind the rear wheels, preferably to the vehicle frame 4. Anactuator 48, e.g. a piston/cylinder unit, is mounted between thecollecting receptacle 37 and the finisher 46 to adjust the inclinationor to regulate the penetration depth of the finisher (only outlinedschematically in FIG. 1).

As is shown in particular in FIGS. 1 and 7 to 9, the loading area 8 isdisposed behind the driver's cabin and above the rear axle 3 and extendsalmost completely across the garbage pickup 12 and the conveying means36. The loading area is of a rectangular design and consists essentiallyof a bottom wall 8a, two side walls 8b extending in the longitudinaldirection of the vehicle, a front wall 8c and an adjustable rear wall8d, which may also be designed as a discharge means. The loading area 8is tiltable about a swivelling axis 50 located at the rear end of therear axial longitudinal bar 16 by means of an actuator 49. The actuator49 for tilting the loading area 8 is supported on the front transversebar 10a and on the lower side of the bottom wall 8a. Rear wheel covers51 for the rear wheels are affixed to the lower side of the bottom wall8a and front wheel covers 52 for the front wheels are affixed to thedriver's cabin 7 or to the front section 4a of the vehicle frame.

The utility vehicle is represented with actuated actuator 49 and tiltedloading area 8 in FIG. 8, the cleaning elements 23 and the garbagepickup 12 being disposed in the ready position where they are liftedfrom the bottom 13. For emptying the loading area 8 the collectingreceptacle 37 is in the tilted position tilted away from the ground tothe loading area due to an actuation of the actuator 43.

FIG. 9 shows the utility vehicle 1 with dismounted track cleaning means20 and dismounted garbage pickup 12. It is furthermore possible todesign the utility vehicle in such fashion that the conveying means 36can also be detached from the vehicle. Detachable quick-acting closuresare in each case provided for a quick dismounting of the track cleaningmeans 20, the garbage pickup 12, the collecting receptacle 37, thelateral connecting rods 40 and the finisher 46.

In order to be able to also use the utility vehicle for other purposes,in particular for municipal works, the vehicle may also be equipped withfurther attachment devices such as for the sweeping of tracks and roads,for the soil ventilation of meadows or the like. The followingattachment devices may e g. be optionally fastened to the front side 1cof the utility vehicle: blade grass cutter, motorized grass cutter,sockle-bar grass cutter, side grass cutter, slope grass cutter,shredding device, sweeping machine, high-pressure flushing device (fortennis coards or plastics tracks), rotary brushes for the cleaning ofguide posts and guardrails, snow ploughs. The attachment devices saltspreaders, fertilizer spreaders, soil ventilating devices (sportsgrounds, etc.) and lawn sweeping machines can e.g. be optionallyattached to the rear of the vehicle 1b. The vehicle may moreover beprovided with attachment devices, e.g. special facilities for thetransport of wicker beach chairs, water reservoirs, etc. For thispurpose, the quick-acting closure system, preferably on the frontsupport 17 or on the attachment plate 18 of the vehicle, may be providedwith an interchangeable plate having different bores for the attachmentof the attachment devices.

What is now claimed is:
 1. A self-propelled utility vehicle (1) forcleaning a ground surface comprising:a vehicle frame (4) having acentric, rectangular opening (9) which has a loading area (8) disposedthereon and at least one front (2) and at least one rear axle (3) eachequipped with at least one wheel (5); an object pickup member (12),including a pickup V-ledge (31) for picking up objects and an elevator(32) for moving the objects, said pickup member pivotably coupled tosaid vehicle frame (1) proximate to said rectangular opening (9) so asto be adjustable between an operating position such that said pickupmember (12) is in contact with the ground surface (13) and a readyposition such that said pickup member (12) is above the ground (13)surface; a collecting receptacle (37) disposed at the rear of saidvehicle (1) and operable for collecting the objects which have beenpicked up and emptying same into said loading area (8); and conveyingmeans (36), disposed between said pickup member (12) and said collectingreceptacle (37), for conveying objects which have been picked uprearwardly into said collecting receptacle (37).
 2. A vehicle accordingto claim 1, wherein the width of said object pickup member (12)corresponds at least to the width of a central strip (22) extendingbetween said wheels (5) of said vehicle (1).
 3. A vehicle according toclaim 1, wherein said conveying means is disposed below said loadingarea and downstream from said elevator.
 4. A vehicle according to claim1, wherein said elevator (32) is disposed downstream of said pickupV-ledge (31).
 5. A vehicle according to claim 4, wherein said elevator(32) comprises two deflecting axes (32a, b), the front one (32a) beingdisposed near the ground and the rear one (32b) being disposed at adistance from the ground in said operating position.
 6. A vehicleaccording to claim 5, wherein said upper deflecting axis (32b), which isat a distance from the ground, is disposed above the rear axle (3) ofsaid vehicle and/or above a rear transverse ar (10b).
 7. A vehicleaccording to claim 5, wherein said elevator (32) is driven so as to movethe objects rearwardly.
 8. A vehicle according to claim 1, wherein anactuator (34) for adjusting and/or pivoting said object pickup memberand for adjusting the working depth is provided between said vehicleframe (4) and said object pickup member (12).
 9. A vehicle according toclaim 1, wherein said elevator (32) is designed in the form of aconveyor belt, in particular a scraper floor, a raking belt or a linkconveyor.
 10. A vehicle according to claim 1, wherein a drivableconveyor means (36) is provided following said object pickup member(12), which conveys the picked up objects to the rear of said vehicle(1b).
 11. A vehicle according to claim 10, wherein said conveyor means(36) is designed as a horizontal or rearwardly rising riddle sifter(36b).
 12. A vehicle according to claim 10, wherein said conveyor means(36) is a conveyor belt.
 13. A vehicle according to claim 1, whereinsaid collecting receptacle (37) is fastened to said vehicle (4) and/orto said loading area (8) of said vehicle by means of two lateralconnecting rods (40).
 14. A vehicle according to claim 13, wherein saidconnecting rods comprise at least one actuator (43) for pivoting about ahorizontal swivelling axis (41).
 15. A vehicle according to claim 13,wherein said collecting receptacle (37) is designed as a dump body andfastened to said connecting rods (40) by means of horizontal swivellingaxes (42).
 16. A vehicle according to claim 15, wherein the swivellingaxes (42) are disposed before the gravity center of said collectingreceptacle (37) in the direction of driving.
 17. A vehicle according toclaim 1, wherein said loading area (8) is disposed above said rear axle(3) behind a driver's cabin (7) and extends preferably across saidobject pickup member (12) and said conveyor means (36).
 18. A vehicleaccording to claim 17, wherein said loading area (8) is tiltably mountedon said vehicle frame (4).
 19. A vehicle according to claim 1, wherein adrivable track cleaning device (20) is provided at the front side (1c)of said vehicle (1), by means of which said objects located in the trackcan be conveyed towards the center of said vehicle (1d).
 20. A vehicleaccording to claim 19, wherein said track cleaning device (20) isheight-guided by means of guide shoes (26).
 21. A vehicle according toclaim 19, wherein said track cleaning device (20) and/or said objectpickup member (12) are fastened by means of a detachable quick-actingclosure.